Works of Sri Raghavendra Tirtha

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Please, find text of chapter "Works of Sri Raghavendra Tirtha" in the work :

TANTRA DIPIKA

Sri Raghavendra Tirtha

Edited

with Critical text, Historical Introduction, Appendices, etc.

Vidyaratna, Vidyabhushana

Sri R.S.Panchamukhi M.A.

Retired Director of Kannada Research Institute,Dharwar.

Publish Date : 1964

Published by Sri R.S. Panchamukhi M.A. under the auspices of the

Karnataka Historical Research Society, Dharwar.

In this chapter, the author notes :

" To the Veda-Prasthana, the Guru's contribution is also not small. His Mantrartha-Manjari or Rigartha Manjari and his annotation on the five Suktas beginning with Purusha Sukta are valuable.The Principal Upanishads were interpreted in Khandarthas - word for word in easy Sanskrit, bringing out the hidden meaning as explained by Sri Madhvacharya and Sri Jayatirtha in the Bhashyas and the respective tikas. Further, the entire body of Rigveda, Yajurveda and Sama Veda was explained word for word. This monumental work of Sri Raghavendra has unfortunately disappeared from our MSS Libraries in India. It is reported that in the last decades of the nineteenth Century A.D. some German missionaries pitched upon this rare work in their study-tours in South India and managed to procure the original copy of the work from its owner for some sumptuous price. Sincesuch huge and unweildy volumes could not have been copied in more than one copy, the removal of the single original copy, from India has robbed the scholars of this precious treasure of knowledge forever. "

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WORKS OF SRI RAGHAVENDRA TIRTHA

Sri Raghavendra Tirtha was a scholar of great depth in all branches of knowledge. The lucid glosses on the works of Sri Jayatirtha and the treatise written independently by him amply illustrate this point. We enumerate below his work in the order of their composition and briefly point out their special features as guides to understand the original texts and through them the tenets of Sri Madhvacharya.

Before Sanyasa-ashrama, Sri Raghaendratirtha known as Mahabhashya Venkata Bhatta, wrote a commentary on Anu-Madhva-Vijaya also called as Prameya- Navamalika of Sri Narayana Panditacharya son of Trivikrama Panditacharya. It is said in the Guruguna-Stavana of Vadindra that Sri Madhva was immensely pleased with this performance of Venkanna and very soon installed him in the highest pontifical seat of his own Vedanta Samraja :

dhIrashri rAghavEndram krutanijavijayastragdharArthaprakAsham |

drushTvA santushTachEtAha dashamatirachirAdabhyashinchatpadE svE ||

The work is a compendium of Sumadhvavijaya in 16 cantos, condensed in 32 verses and the commentary reads the contents of the bigger work in these verses with wonderful power of comprehension. The commentary bristles with corroborative references from the Puranas, illuminating biographical details and explanatory grammatical notes of great interest. It is written in simple, chaste and idiomatic style and is easily intelligible even to the beginners of Kavya. This clarity of style is maintained by Sri Raghavendra in all his works. After Sannyasa the Guru made a unique contribution to the exegetical literature of Sri Madhva's works by producing lucid commentaries and independent treatises. He is therefore fittingly called Tippanikara.

The order of the works given in the Guruguna-Stavana may be accepted as correct since the author of the poem was probably the youngest or nearest contemporary of Sri Raghavendratirtha being his grandson (son of Sri Lakshminarayanacharya). The next work after the commentary of Anu-Madhva-Vijaya called Gudhaprakashika is stated to be a gloss on Vadavali, of Sri Jayatirtha. The author's scholarship in Nyaya, Mimamsa and Vyakarna is fully displayed in the brilliant explanations of the terse text of Vadavali. The difficult and controvertial problems of the Dvaita philosophy are solved with ease and lucidity in the commentary. The Vadavali has been the original on which the voluminous Nyayamrita of Sri Vyasatirtha is based. Sri Raghavendratirtha satisfied himself with the commentary and did not comment upon Nyayamrita for its purpose had been served by the commentary on Vadavali only.

Then, he turned his attention towards the Brahmasutras of Badarayana on which Sri Madhvacharya had composed Bhashya, Anubhashya, Anuvyakhyana, and Nyayavivarana. Sri Jayatirtha who for his masterly commentaries on the works of Sri Madhva is fittingly known as Tikakara has written Tattvaprakasha on Bhashya, Sri Nyayasudha on Anuvyakhyana and a tika on a part of Nyayavivarana. Sri Raghavendra has produced a fine gloss called Sri Nyayasudha-Parimala on Sri Nyayasudha, Bhavadipa on Tatvaprakasha and an independent commentary on Anubhashya called Tatvamanjari. His Nyayamuktavali covers the ground on Nyayavivarana. Sri Vyasatirtha wrote Tatparya-Chandrika on Tatvaprakashika and our author wrote gloss on in called Chandrika-Prakasha. Even the best stalwart scholars in Dvaita philosophy receive the interpretations of Sri Raghavendratirtha with reverence and treat them as final word on the solution of the difficult points in philosophy. They are so indispensable to the learned as well to the students of Dvaita-Siddhanta. Chandrika-Prakasha was composed while the Guru was camping at Udupi the seat of Sri Krishna installed by Sri Madhvacharya. Before this was completed, the author wrote a condensed gloss on the Brahmasutra called Tantradipika and Nyaya-Mauktikamala.

chandrikAvivaraNam na samAptam yAvadEtadubhayam virachayya |

nyAyagarbhanayavannayashAlI tatsamApayadanantaramAryah ||

We shall deal with Tantradipika the present work under publication in detail later,Vadindra who is a critical student of the works of Sri Raghavendra observes that even the momentous work Chandrika of Sri Vyasatirtha was given wide publicity among the scholars by his gloss Chandrika-Prakasha.

yEnaishA chandrikApi tribhuvanavishadA satpathOdanchitashrirlEbhE

sarvajnamauliprakaTitavibhavA tvata eva prakAsham | - G.G.S

Similarly the fragrance of Sudha (Nyayasudha) was spread out in the world by his gloss called Parimala :

yAbhihi sammishritabhihi niravadhivasudhAvishrutA sA sudhApi |

kshONigirvANagamyam parimalatulam sAmpratam samprapEdE || - G.G.S

It is stated that the works of Sri Raghavendra were intent on removing all doubts, textual as well as philosophical, clarifying the import of Sri Madhva's works and this remark is justified fully by the performance of the Guru.

bhAvyasamshayamahO guruvamshE darshanshrutivaraha samatIndraha |

tasya sArthakamidam sakalam syAdityavEtya krutavAn krutisArtham |

- R.V.VIII. 13

In the course of his philosophical tours, the Guru shifted his campus from place to place. From Udupi, he went to Pandharpur, Kolhapur and Bijapur giving discourses on philosophy to students and sanctifying the country by his stay and worship of Sri Mula Ramachandra. From Bijapur, the journey turned to the south where he obtained a special honour of white umbrella after defeating the opponents in scholiastic disputations.

vAdinOpi paribhUya vishishya shvEtamAtapa nivAraNamApnOt || - R.V. VIII.69

The Guru took bath in the holy waters of the Krishna at Sitimani (or Chimmalgi) and stayed there for some time. Here, he wrote his gloss Bhavadipa on Tatvaprakasha and the Tatvamanjari on Anubhashya : -

snAtavAnatha budhaihi saha krushNAnimhagApayasi nirjitamAraha |

tataTE jayaguruditaTIkAm vyAkrutApi yatirADaNubhAshyam || - R.V. VIII.70

Thus, it is found that Bhavadipa and Tatvamanjari were the last productions of the author, on the Brahmasutra Prasthana. This is borne out by the internal evidence of cross references to Tantradipika, Chandrika Prakasha and Sudha Parimala in Bhavadipa. Of Bhavadipa, it is observed that all other old commentaries did not provide the real import of the original TatvaprakAsha, while Bhavadipa laid bare its hidden meaning and made it fully displayed in all its aspects to the world of scholars.

adhya shri rAghavEndra bratikrutivivruti prauDha kaushEyaratnam |

svEhAyuktam vasAnA viharati sudh/iyAmagrataha svairiNIva||

Even Sri Raghavendra pays glorious tributes of Sri Vyasatirtha's Chandrika and remembers him with gratitude while explaining the versatile commentary Tatvaprakashika.

tatvaprakAshikAkrutam chandrikAtaha prakAshatE |

His Tatvamanjari is a superb exegesis on the Anubhashya, written independently so as to cover the meaning of the Adhikarana and the Sutras contained in the brief pithy but significant words of the original Tet Anubhashya comprising only 32 Anushtubh verses, without the help of Jayatirtha's commentary. For, Jayatirtha has not written any tika on this small compendium. So, but for the tika of Sri Raghavendra, the work remains a closed book to the students of Dvaita :

hantAnantONubhAshyE vilasati bhagavatpAdasamvarNitOrthah |

satyam pratyEtu lOkaha kathamidamadhunA tasya TIkam vinA tE ||

The work MANTRODDHARA a manual on the secret Mantras was composed as a guide to the study of Tantrasangraha of Sri Madhva. His contribution to the study of the Bhagavadgita is also noteworthy. A commentary on Prameyadipika of Jayatirtha on Gita-bhashya of Sri Madhva and his Gitartha-Sangraha as well as a gloss on the commentary of Gita by Sri Madhvacharya, called Gita-tatparya-nirnaya make a fine addition to the Gita Literature in Dvaita. The author's capacity to compress vast meaning in few words is exemplified in his Gitartha-Sangraha. Unfortunately the former commentaries on the Gita are not available at present. But, the Gitarthasangraha is well known as Gita Vivritti a primer on the sense of the Gita as told in the Bhashya, Tatparya Prameya-Dipika and Gita-tatparya-tika.

yEna vyAkhyAya gItamapi gurucharaNOdAra tadbhAshyaTIkA -

vyAkhyA vikhyAtavidvanmaNIgaNavinutAkAri bhUyastvayaiva ||

This gloss on Gita-tatparya-tika is appreciated as a wonderful work on the teachings of the Gita :-

shaschadvyAkhyAta gItAkrutirapi vibudhAnugrahaikAgrachitO |

gItAtAparya TIkA vivaraNamakarOdbhutam rAghavEndraha ||

To the Veda-Prasthana, the Guru's contribution is also not small. His Mantrartha-Manjari or Rigartha Manjari and his annotation on the five Suktas beginning with Purusha Sukta are valuable.The Principal Upanishads were interpreted in Khandarthas - word for word in easy Sanskrit, bringing out the hidden meaning as explained by Sri Madhvacharya and Sri Jayatirtha in the Bhashyas and the respective tikas. Further, the entire body of Rigveda, Yajurveda and Sama Veda was explained word for word. This monumental work of Sri Raghavendra has unfortunately disappeared from our MSS Libraries in India. It is reported that in the last decades of the nineteenth Century A.D. some German missionaries pitched upon this rare work in their study-tours in South India and managed to procure the original copy of the work from its owner for some sumptuous price. Since such huge and unweildy volumes could not have been copied in more than one copy, the removal of the single original copy, from India has robbed the scholars of this precious treasure of knowledge forever.

The ten Prakaranas of Madhvacharya (Vedanta manuals) were explained with easy glosses on the

Tika of Sri Jayatirtha. Besides these, a commentary on the Pramana Paddhati of Sri Jayatirtha was also composed for the easy understanding of the text. The Guru's activities were extended to the two epics Mahabharata and Ramayana. His Bhavasangraha or a digest on the Mahabharata-tatparya Nirnaya of Sri Madhva, Krishna Charita Manjari and Rama Charita Manjari though small in extent bring out the entire details of the main story of the two epics. It may be mentioned as a crowning feat of his intellectual brilliance that he added a facile commentary called Nyayadipa to the Tarkatandava of Sri Vyasatirtha, where the tenets of the Tarkikas have been refuted with clinching arguments. The versatile genius of Sri Raghavendratirtha is fully exemplified in his new production in Mimamasa called Bhattasangraha which brings the Sutras of Jaimini, under the easy understanding of the students of Vedanta who are unused to the technicalities of the Mimamsa Sutras. His brilliance in explaining the Mimamsa-Sutras of Jaimini elicited unstinted appreciation and praise from no less a scholar than Nilakantha Dikshita grandson of Appaya Dikshita, along with a rare honour of State procession on Elephant back :

tantrashri nIlakNThAbiva makhimaNinA bhaTTatantrAnuvandhE

granthE tAvad dvitIyE karINI guNavidArOpitEbhyarahaNaya |

kirtistE raghavEndra vratisumatimaNE nUnamanyUnavEgA -

ddhinnAgAnArurukshussvayamapi sahasAdhAvadashtau digAntAn ||

Sri Raghavendra thus enriched the Dvaita literature by his brilliant and useful commentaries and independent works. His name adorns with unique grace and splendour the galaxy of first rate senior commentators in Dvaita.

It is beyond the scope of the present introduction to attempt at a detailed appreciation of individual works with critical analysis. Now, we confine our treatment of the subject to the detailed study of the Tantradipika under publication, bringing out its salient features and unique merits as a gloss on the Brahma Sutras.

Sri Krishnarpanamastu